3.
AVAILABLE WAVE DATA
3.1 Regional Wave Buoy Measurements
Historical wave data for the eastern Pacific Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere are limited. The SHOA have
measured waves at a variety of locations along the Chilean coastline over the past 20 years, as shown in Table 1
(organized from north to south) and Figure 4. Most of these wave records have duration of one year or less, and
generally the wave buoy was placed in shallow water. Most of the historical observations were performed using
Datawell non-directional Waveriders; however, more recently (2000 onwards) the wave measurements have been
conducted by means of a TriAxys directional buoy.
In addition to the SHOA buoys, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operated a
non-directional 3 metre discus buoy to the west of northern Chile at location 18.0 S and 85.1 W. Wave
measurements were conducted at this buoy from 1986 to 1995.
Wave data from NOAA buoys in the North Pacific, such as NOAA 46003 near the Aleutian Islands, and NOAA
buoys 46059 and 46042 near California, were also employed in the study for hindcast model validation.
Table 1
Historical Wave Measurements Conducted in Chile
Water
Median
Median
Location
Start
End
Depth
Hm0 (m)
Tp (s)
Arica
07/07/88
07/07/89
051 m
1.42
15.5
Iquique
05/06/87
12/07/88
072 m
1.40
15.6
Antofagasta
15/10/90
05/12/91
100 m
1.34
12.2
Caldera
22/08/82
27/01/84
095 m
0.92
15.7
12/12/87
20/04/88
097 m
Isla de Pascua
23/06/82
20/12/82
097 m
1.75
13.2
05/01/83
23/01/83
097 m
18/04/92
05/08/92
097 m
21/09/92
07/10/92
097 m
04/11/92
12/03/93
097 m
12/03/93
16/09/93
097 m
Coquimbo
17/08/89
10/10/90
108 m
1.49
14.3
Valparaso
06/07/79
10/12/79
105 m
1.70
14.7
02/05/81
08/13/81
105 m
01/06/00
29/09/00
110 m
2.00
12.1
06/04/01
27/08/01
135 m
Constitucion
18/02/84
22/02/85
107 m
1.78
14.2
San Vicente
29/10/85
05/02/86
022 m
0.96
16.3
Golfo Coronados
13/05/86
11/06/87
051 m
2.30
13.2
Faro Flix
02/05/92
26/04/93
098 m
1.86
10.9
There is generally an increasing trend in median wave height from north to south for those buoys that had a
reasonable degree of open exposure (Arica, Iquique, Valparaiso, Constitucion, Golfo Coronados).
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